Work

No Change in Plio–Pleistocene Ancestral Rio Grande Paleohydrology in Response to Regional Climate Change, Central and Southern New Mexico, USA

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Fluvial cross-set heights from strata deposited by the Ancestral Rio Grande in central and southern New Mexico during Pliocene–Pleistocene time are used to reconstruct paleoflow depths for the Ancestral Rio Grande over a period of regional climate change. The results show a negligible change in flow depth between 5 Ma and 1.6 Ma despite an interpreted increase in temperature, aridity, and monsoon strength over this time period. Coefficients of variation (CV) for cross-set heights, a proxy for the flashiness of fluvial systems, show no substantial change from 5 Ma to 1.6 Ma. We suggest that the lack of change in flow depth and CV in response to regional climate change reflects either that the magnitude of climate change was not substantial enough to be recorded in the fluvial record or that the Ancestral Rio Grande was sufficiently hydrologically buffered such that changes in precipitation did not substantially affect flow depths or the flashiness of recorded flow.

Source: Stratigraphy and Sedimentology

DOI: 10.3390/stratsediment1020010

Authors: Lily Newton, Riley Heath, Ryan J. Leary, Kate C. P. Leary

Institutions: New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

Language: English

Topic: Geological formations and processes

Subfield: Earth-Surface Processes

Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Climate action

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund